zhíjiē wèn jiàoliàn.

Yes. This is a very normal imperative sentence in Chinese.

The subject you is understood, just like in English commands:

• Sit down.
• Ask the coach directly.

So 直接问教练。 naturally means something like Ask the coach directly.

Here, 直接 means directly, straightforwardly, or without going through someone else.

In this sentence, it works like an adverb, modifying 问:

• 直接问 = ask directly

So the idea is: don’t ask someone else first, don’t go around indirectly—just ask the coach.

This follows a very common Chinese pattern:

adverb + verb + object

So here:

• 直接 = adverb
• 问 = verb
• 教练 = object

Literally:

• directly + ask + coach

That is standard Chinese word order.

Because Chinese does not need a preposition here.

In English, we say ask the coach, not ask to the coach. Chinese works similarly:

• 问教练 = ask the coach

The person being asked can come directly after 问.

You can also sometimes say:

• 向教练问
• 跟教练问 (less standard in some contexts)

But 问教练 is simple, natural, and very common.

Yes.

You can ask someone something in Chinese. For example:

• 问教练这个问题 = ask the coach this question
• 问教练时间 = ask the coach the time
• 问教练怎么办 = ask the coach what to do

So in 直接问教练。, the topic is just left unstated because it is understood from context.

Chinese nouns do not have articles like a or the, so 教练 by itself can mean:

• a coach
• the coach
• sometimes even coaches, depending on context

In this sentence, context usually makes it feel like the coach.

It is pronounced jiàoliàn.

Tone breakdown:

• 教 = jiào (4th tone)
• 练 = liàn (4th tone)

So both syllables are in the falling 4th tone.

By itself, yes, it can sound fairly direct because it is a bare command.

That does not automatically make it rude—it depends on context, tone of voice, and who is speaking—but if you want to soften it, you could say:

• 你直接问教练吧。 = You should just ask the coach directly.
• 直接问教练吧。 = Just ask the coach directly.
• 请直接问教练。 = Please ask the coach directly.

Adding 吧 often makes advice or suggestions sound softer.

Not in the most natural reading here.

直接问教练。 is normally understood as:

• directly ask the coach

because 教练 comes after the verb 问, so it is read as the object.

If you wanted to address the coach directly, you would usually separate it more clearly, for example:

• 教练，直接问吧。 = Coach, just ask directly.

The comma makes a big difference.

It can be used in more than one way.

In this sentence, it is an adverb:

• 直接问 = ask directly

But 直接 can also be an adjective, for example:

• 直接的方法 = a direct method
• 他说话很直接。 = He speaks very directly / He is very straightforward.

So its exact role depends on where it appears in the sentence.